NY Post: Knicks erupt in every way for seventh straight win

From Marc Berman:

Seven more assists from Julius Randle. Eleven more 3-pointers combined from backcourt men RJ Barrett and Reggie Bullock.

Countless more hustle pays by the nasty center tandem of Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson. And another second-half defensive gem by the Knicks, holding the Hornets to 31 points.

It all rolled out to a Lucky 7, and 1,7,53 socially distanced Garden fans loved it, giving the team a standing ovation in the final 50 seconds.

The Knicks won their seventh straight Tuesday by posting a 109-97 victory over Charlotte, rallying from a six-point halftime deficit after an opening first half when their defense was asleep.

The Knicks awoke long enough to register their longest win streak since rolling off eight consecutive wins during a 2014 playoff push that fell short.

“Amazing,’’ Randle said. “It’s got to be the first time in my career I’ve done that. It’s a great feeling. We’re all locked in what we need to do night to night. Let’s make it eight.’’

Another outstanding win. I wasn’t even particularly worried about the deficit at the half. I figured the Knicks would tighten the defense in the second half and that’s just what happened. The Knicks never slow down. They play balls to the wall every game and that gives them a big advantage over most teams.

They now have a chance to make it eight in a row tomorrow at the Garden with a chance to then get homecourt in the playoffs against the Hawks! Let’s hope that they pull it out!

7 replies on “NY Post: Knicks erupt in every way for seventh straight win”

Reposted because of new thread

I couldn’t watch the game, but from the box score it seems like maybe the Hornets decided to shut down the Knicks inside game and make the Knicks win by shooting three pointers; and then the Knicks did just that. Is that a fair impression on my part?

you know KfniNJ, I don’t know if it was by design or not, but yeah – it did kind of seem like a conscious effort on our part to shoot more threes than drive to the rim…

other than rose and burks, we don’t really have a whole bunch of guys who go to the rim much, unless elf is having one of his games…

I’m not sure we even had many pnr attempts at all this game…

I liked the Thibs hire, and I liked everything Rose & co did during the off season, but I never imagined either would make the team as competitive as it’s been. Kudos to management, the staff, the players, and you fans that have stuck with this team.

In 2013 Ephus used to say “now is a good time to be a Knicks fan”, but it always seemed empty because Grunwald(/Dolan) constructed that team for the moment and it was clear to most that “now” wasn’t sustainable. But this team, with youth, and cap space, and draft picks, and short contracts, has upward mobility that team lacked.

I do think there’s a lot about 2020/21 that levels the field, and next year could be a different beast altogether, but even in my cynical, team-pessimism, 8 years of schadenfreude mindset, I have to give credit where credit is due. This team may actually be worth watching. (If only I had the time, the time-zone, and the league pass…)

Good win and I agree, never in doubt, we known we would have won.

It’s astonishing how they reversed from a stretch of bad losses to this, where they ooze confidence and everyone carries a brick to build the wins.

This last two weeks remind me of the 87-88 season, Mark Jackson’s rookie year, the first of 14 consecutive playoffs berth coming off 3 horrible injury plagued seasons, when “tanking” wasn’t used so frequently.
We got the last playoffs spot thanks to the tie-breaker over the Pacers and proceeded to be blown away by the last hurrah of the Bird-Parish-McHale Celtics, but that was an april to remember, the Garden rocked at the foundations and that was the start of some very good times…

This team gives me the same vibes.

Max: This last two weeks remind me of the 87-88 season,

Max, I have thought this the whole season, not just the last two weeks. A turnaround from terrible to vying for playoffs, a new coach (Pitino’s first season), an ROY contender, and real excitement. If I remember correctly, not only did we win the tiebreaker with Indy for a playoff spot, it came on the last game of the season against Indy on a last second shot by Mark Jackson. Perhaps our last game this season can provide yet another similarity between the two seasons?

As an aside that team featured 4 future NBA head coaches on its roster.

BernieEarnie:If I remember correctly, not only did we win the tiebreaker with Indy for a playoff spot, it came on the last game of the season against Indy on a last second shot by Mark Jackson.Perhaps our last game this season can provide yet another similarity between the two seasons?

Your memory served you well 🙂

It’ll be really wonderful if the last game of this season will go the same way, but with the fourth spot on the line…

BernieEarnie: Max, I have thought this the whole season, not just the last two weeks. A turnaround from terrible to vying for playoffs, a new coach (Pitino’s first season), an ROY contender, and real excitement.

Me too, guys. That was my first season as a fan. It’s been a long road. But this year feels good.

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